[Clinical characteristics of disorders of sexual functions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis]

The method of structural analysis was used to study the presence of sexual disorders in 26 male patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The incidence of sexual disorders was 42.3 per cent (11 patients). In this case the ejaculatory and neurohumoral components of the copulative cycle were mostly disturbed. Sexual dysfunction developed during the disease and was often associated with exacerbation of RA. Disorders in pubertal development were revealed in none of the patients. But patients with a disturbed sexual function exhibited a significant decrease in the total cumulative index in the male sexual formula, in the level of total and free testosterone, a rise in the content of prolactin. Possible causes and mechanisms of sexual disorders in male patients with RA are discussed.